Final Declaration
Havana meeting says 'no' to FTAA
Some 1,230 people from the 35 countries in the Western
Hemisphere met in Havana Jan. 27-30 to oppose U.S.
imperialism's attempt to impose the Free Trade Area of the
Americas on the hemisphere. Below are excerpts from the final
document issued by the meeting.
To all the peoples of our America:
Men and women, of all races, rich in our diversity of
origins, cultures and beliefs, representatives of social and
political organizations of the 35 countries of our continent,
we have met here, in the land of Martí, filled with the
memory of the acts of Bolívar and San Martín,
Zapata and Sandino, of all those who fought to give sovereignty
and dignity to our peoples, to make our Third Hemispheric
Encounter of Struggle against the Free Trade Area of the
Americas. We stand against this project, which if carried out
threatens to bring the misery of our peoples, the injustices
and the inequalities that we experience in our countryside and
cities, to its highest level, and to subordinate once and for
all the future of our nations to the interests of the giant
U.S. corporations.
Since our last encounter, millions of inhabitants of the
continent were added to the popular consultations speaking out
against the creation of the FTAA. In this period, we organized
important mobilizations against the badly named "free trade,"
like the battle of Cancún against the World Trade
Organization, as well as the one we carried out in Miami
against the FTAA in spite of the gigantic repressive apparatus
there. In this same year, we saw all over the continent
multiple examples of popular fights of resistance against the
different forms of the neoliberal war, of which "free commerce"
is one of the main weapons. Above all, the Bolivian people
carried out a true popular rebellion against the loss of
sovereignty and natural resources and against the FTAA that
finally threw out of power the puppet the United States
maintained as Bolivia's president. ...
Meanwhile, the government of the United States is working
every day to impose bilateral or regional treaties and
mega-projects, for example, the "free trade" agreement between
the United States and Central America, with the threat to
continue with the Andean region, with the exception of
Venezuela. To stop the advance of these plans and treaties is
also to block the way to the FTAA. ...
The other face of these economic calamities at this time of
war neoliberalism is militarization; with the pretext of the
fight against drug trafficking and now terrorism,
militarization is the indispensable partner of "free trade."
Plan Colom bia, Commando North and the "cooperation" in general
of our governments with the hawks of the Pentagon are the other
side of the pincers of the policy of economic integration that
subordinate our nations to North American interests. ...
Sisters and brothers of our America,
Negotiations concerning the FTAA have entered the final
stretch, and bilateral and regional treaties are the favored
roads leading there. No longer is there time. For that reason
it is from this land, a worthy example of resistance, and
inspired by the revolt of the Bolivian people, we make the
following CALL to all the peoples of the continent:
* To rise up to defeat the FTAA, fighting simultaneously
against bilateral and regional treaties, agreements and plans
and redoubling in our countries and on a continental scale the
campaign against the FTAA. ...
* To exert pressure on the national congresses to put them
on the side of their peoples in the fight in defense of
sovereignty.
* To mobilize with all those in the world who will go out
next March 20 to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq and
to stop U.S. war and aggression.
* To mobilize April 24 against multilateral financial
institutions and the external debt.
* To conduct simultaneous actions with the August 29
protests against the re-election of Bush to be carried out in
New York on the occasion of the Republican Convention.
* To add us to the mobilizations that on key dates are
summoning diverse popular forces and which include our plan of
action of struggle against the FTAA.
* To build a great continental day of struggle as our
central action of this year as of the first day of the
ministerial meeting on the FTAA scheduled in Brazil in 2004.
...
From this free territory of America, which we supported and
for which we demand the end to the blockade and respect for its
sovereignty, we say:
Our America is not for sale!
Popular sovereignty yes, FTAA no!
Neither war nor free trade
Together let us build the other America that is
possible!
Reprinted from the Feb. 19, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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